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186
SHRAMAN MAHAVIR
man not contaminated with non-discrimination, an object : is merely an object meant for some use and not a cause of acquisition A man suffering from non-discrimination makes an object as an excuse for acquisition Thus acquisition can be seen as (1) Its psychological counterpart (non-discrimination) and (2) the overt cause-(the object)
Once, Gautam. the senior disciple of the Lord said to him, 'Sire! This pauper is truly non-acquisitive. He owns nothing'
'Is his mind also shorn of all desires ?' 'No, sir It is not' 'How do you call him non-acquisitive, then ?' 1 A man contaminated with indiscrimination, even if penniless, is acquisitive in this penury. 2 An individual owning just adequate means of livelihood and wide-awake in his discrimination is austere 3 A man neither suffering from the want of discrimination nor owning anything is non-acquisitive 4 A man suffering from indiscrimination and owning huge property is acquisitive
The Lord exhorted the social being to put a curb on his acquisitive tendencies so that he may progress towards nonacquisition The maxim implied a curb on desire while literally It was a curb on the articles possessed A curb on desire is a restraint on one's possessive instinct It eludes a verbal expression A curb on articles is a restraint on one's personal possession It is amenable to a linguistic approach Hence the Lord enunciated the curb on desire alongwith the curb on objective possession
The curb on possession is the manifestation of the curb on desire The man with unlimited desire makes an unlimited collection
Viewing the tendency from the angle of material possession it can either be (1) Immense personal possession of material things or (2) limited acquisition for limited personal use Lord Mahavira conceived a social system based on an
